This invention relates to a method for freezing cooked rice such that individual grains of frozen rice are created without damaging the grains or using oil to aid separation of the grains of rice.
The emergence of convenience foods, including frozen food, is no longer limited to a narrow range of foods. One of the foods which is now commonly frozen is cooked rice. Freezing cooked rice has some inherent problems. If the rice is frozen in a mass, such as for an individual serving, the mass of frozen cooked rice is commonly defrosted with hot water or is microwaved. In either case, the rice seems to get defrosted unevenly and the resulting product is not nearly as appetizing as is freshly cooked rice. Also, when rice is frozen in a mass, it is difficult to separate the rice into measured amounts; this causes problems in packaging conventionally frozen cooked rice. Therefore, it is preferred that the frozen rice be individual, separate grains of frozen rice rather than a mass of frozen rice.
One way to create separate grains of frozen cooked rice is disclosed in several reports: Junkaisho Official Reports 57-65156 through 57-65157; 57-99148; and 60-227640. These reports teach cooling cooked rice down to a chosen temperature, typically room or ambient temperature, and then freezing the rice which creates a frozen mass of rice. The frozen mass of rice is then broken up into pieces with the purpose of having individual frozen grains of rice the result. One of the problems with this method is that in breaking up the frozen mass of rice, many rice grains are crushed or smashed resulting in lower quality rice.
In response to the problems caused by the smashed rice grains, oil can be mixed into the cooked rice before freezing. By coating the surface of each grain of rice with oil, the grains of rice after freezing break into separate grains very easily thus resulting in much less damage to the rice. However, adding oil to the rice is not desirable since it changes the taste and texture of the rice. Therefore, this method cannot be used with plain white rice; the method is only suitable for flavored rice or other situations where the taste of the oil would not be objectionable.